'''Decentralisation''' ([[American English]] and Oxford English: '''decentralization''') is any of various means of more widely distributing [[decision-making]] to bring it closer to the point of service or action. It occurs in a great many contexts in [[engineering]], [[management science]], [[political science]], [[political economy]], [[sociology]] and [[economics]] &mdash; each of which could be said to study mass decision-making by groups, too large to consult with each other very directly.

'''Decentralisation''' ([[American English]] and Oxford English: '''decentralization''') is any of various means of more widely distributing [[decision-making]] to bring it closer to the point of service or action. It occurs in a great many contexts in [[engineering]], [[management science]], [[political science]], [[political economy]], [[sociology]] and [[economics]] &mdash; each of which could be said to study mass decision-making by groups, too large to consult with each other very directly.

an interface: a lateral relationship between two players of roughly equal power.

The more decentralized a system is, the more it relies on lateral relationships, and the less it can rely on command or force. In most branches of engineering and economics, decentralisation is narrowly defined as the study of markets and interfaces between parts of a system. This is most highly developed as general systems theory and neoclassical political economy.

Many, if not most, political theorists believe there are limits to decentralization as a strategy. They assert that any relaxation of direct control or authority introduces the possibility of dissent or division at critical moments, especially if what is being decentralised is decision-making among human beings. Friedrich Engels famously responded to Bakunin, refuting the argument of total decentralisation, or anarchism, by scoffing "how these people propose to run a factory, operate a railway or steer a ship without having in the last resort one deciding will, without single management, they of course do not tell us".

However, some anarchists have, in turn, responded to his argument, by explaining that they do support a (very limited) amount of centralization, in the form of freely elected and recallable delegates. More to the point from the majority of anarchist perspectives are the real-world successes of anarchist communities, which for the majority only ended when they were defeated by the overwhelming military might of the State or neighbouring States. All in all, we do not know what a truly decentralized society would look like over a long period of time since it has never been permitted to exist, however the Zapatistas of Mexico are proving to be quite resilient, having thus far maintained their autonomy since 1994, and continue to improve and develop their communities.

In "On Authority", Engels also wrote of democratic workplaces that "particular questions arise in each room and at every moment concerning the mode of production, distribution of material, etc., which must be settled by decision of a delegate placed at the head of each branch of labour or, if possible, by a majority vote."

Notable exceptions among trade unions are the Wobblies, and the strong anarcho-syndicalist movement of Spain. However, a strategy of decentralization is not always so obviously political, even if it relies implicitly on authority delegated via a political system. For example, engineering standards are a means by which decentralisation of supply inspection and testing can be achieved — a manufacturer adhering to the standard can participate in decentralised systems of bidding, e.g. in a parts market. A building standard, for instance, permits the building trades to train labour and building supply corporations to provide parts, which enables rapid construction of buildings at remote sites. Decentralization of training and inspection, through the standards themselves, and related schedules of standardized testing and random spot inspection, achieves a very high statistical reliability of service, i.e. automobiles which rarely stall, cars which rarely leak, and the like.

All these fields recognize some factors that encourage centralised authority and other factors that encourage decentralised "democracy" — balances between which are the major focus of group dynamics. However, decentralisation is not only a feature of human society. It is also a feature of ecology.

Another objection or limit to political decentralisation, similar in structure to that of Engels, is that terrestrial ecoregions impose a certain fiat by their natural water-circulation, soil, and plant and animal biodiversity which constitutes a form of (what the United Nations calls) "natural capital". Since these natural living systems can be neither changed nor replaced by man, some argue that an ecoregional democracy which follows their borders strictly is the only form of decentralisation of larger political units that will not lead to endless conflict, e.g. gerrymandering, in struggle between social groups.